


Count Down From Ten

by sterlynsilverrose



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Creepy, Halloween, Major Character Death if you squint, Monsters, No fluff whatsoever, Other, Violence, lots of tension, seriously creepy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 02:40:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12571912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sterlynsilverrose/pseuds/sterlynsilverrose
Summary: Victor wakes up in the middle of the night to an open window and a missing fiance. After escaping his apartment from a rampaging creature, Victor tries to piece together exactly what is going on.His night just keeps going downhill from there.





	Count Down From Ten

_Vitya, if you ever find yourself overwhelmed, what helps me is taking a deep breath and counting down from ten…_

\-----

It was dark in the room when Victor awoke. 

The darkness around him pressed in from all sides. His eyes focused on the dim light peeking through the half opened blinds. 

Victor hated nights like this. 

His body felt sluggish, but his mind snapped awake almost instantly. 

The blankets that usually draped in protection wound tightly around him, holding him in place. 

A chilly wind blew across the large mattress from the open window at the foot of the bed. 

_Did I leave the window open?_

No. 

He hadn’t left the window open. Contrary to what others thought, Victor Nikiforov wasn’t an airhead. He never left the window open. 

Especially at night. 

The hair on Victor’s neck stood up, and his spine stiffened as he peered in the dark towards the foot of the bed. The curtains billowed away from the window before settling back in their normal places. 

Victor didn’t move a muscle. 

It felt like someone was already in the apartment with them. Victor’s stomach dropped as his brain snapped at him to move.

_Do **something**_. 

A sense of unease crawled along his spine, paralyzing him in place.

_Where is Yuuri?_

Yuuri wouldn’t have left the window open either. 

He wanted to sit up. He wanted to look over at the bed beside him, but even without doing that the bed felt strangely absent. Victor’s breathing was harsh in his own ears, and his chest was strangely tight. 

A loud thud came from the living room. 

Victor felt his pulse jump into his throat as he bolted upright, blankets still cocooning him. 

There was another thud, louder this time and just down the hallway from their room.

Closer to the bedroom than the living room. 

_Thud_. 

That one was right in front of the bedroom door. 

“Yuuri?” Victor whispered. 

He wasn’t sure exactly how loud his voice had been, but he recognized the wavering tone of his own voice. 

No answer. 

Whatever was there wasn’t Yuuri. 

It also wasn’t Makkachin. 

They had just come back from a competition, and so the dog was still with the sitter until the next morning. 

Victor kept his eyes trained on the door as he heard something scrape slowly from the top of the door, hissing all the way down to the bottom. His body shook as he tried to untangle himself from the blankets. 

_Get out._

_Run._

_Hide!_

Victor heard something grasp the golden knob that kept the door shut. Slowly the knob turned, squeaking as whoever or whatever was on the other side of the door went to enter the room. Victor stumbled out of bed running towards the door and shoved himself against it. 

The knob turned back and Victor reached down, clicking the lock closed. Something threw itself against the door scrambling against it, growling in protest to being denied entry. 

Victor sprang back from the door, falling down as whatever it was threw itself against the wood again. 

Once. 

Twice. 

Three times. 

He couldn’t stay there. Every fiber of his body was sending alarm bells to his brain. 

Another powerful hit to the door sent wood splinters flying in every direction. 

Victor turned to look at the bed. 

It was empty. 

Of course it was empty. There was no way that Yuuri would still be there. 

_Did he open the window?_

Without stopping to think, Victor’s head turned sharply towards the window. He stood up on shaky legs and wobbled to the window as fast as he could and put his hands on the windowsill. 

A screech exploded from the other side of the door as it finally gave way and hit the wall behind it with a loud BANG. 

Victor didn’t look back. He threw one leg and then the other through the open window and dropped himself down to the pavement below. 

Being on the first floor was a blessing and a curse. While there was a sizeable drop, Victor landed on the chilled ground below the window, dazed and shivering. The sound of something thrashing and fragile things breaking filtered out from the inside of the apartment. 

Whatever it was wailed and continued to thunder around inside wreaking havoc, angry that its prey had slipped away somehow. 

Victor pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and carefully followed the outside of the building. His fingers sank into the wet dirt, making him shiver with distaste, but he had to get away. 

Whatever had been inside the apartment wasn’t making noise now. 

There was no telling just how much time he had. 

Slowly. 

_Slowly._

His knees were sore and wet; his pajama bottoms soaked and caked in dirt and other substances that Victor had no desire to think about. His heart hammered in his throat and his vision wavered. 

Each movement he made felt like it took an eternity to see through. 

_I need to get help. I need to find Yuuri and get help._

His breath came out in puffs of steam in front of his face as he crawled slowly towards the back of the apartments. When he felt sure that he wouldn’t be spotted, Victor forced himself up on shaky feet. 

A twinge in his ankle made him wince. 

Escaping whatever the hell was in his apartment hadn’t come freely. Victor rolled his ankle slightly and winced as it caught and refused to roll the entire circle he directed his foot in. 

Great. 

Slowly limping his way towards the sidewalk, Victor wrapped his arms around himself shivering. The moon hung high overhead in the sky, and absolutely no one was out. Snow fell in small flurries around him as he staggered away from his apartment as quick as his feet could manage. 

The wind whipped past Victor making him pause mid-stride, muscles locking up as he shuddered and tucked his chin against his chest. His fingers felt frozen against his sides. 

_Yuuri. Did you run away this way too?_

Where would he have gone? 

_Why didn’t he take me with him?_

\----

The lights that illuminated the streets were off, making the air feel alien. Aside from the lightly falling snow, there was no living soul out tonight.

_None of this makes sense._

Victor had picked the neighborhood for himself and Yuuri due to the shops and the convenience of having one nearby that stayed open late. They had both been in there when Yuuri’s jet lag was at its worst, and Victor had guided his introverted partner around by his hand. 

A shiver ran down his spine. 

The bed had been empty beside him. There had been no trace of his fiance when he woke. 

Had something else managed to spirit Yuuri away before Victor woke up? 

A sourness filled Victor’s mouth and curled into the pit of his stomach making him nearly double over and fall to the ground. It sent a pinching pain down his legs into the soles of his feet through them to the tips of his toes. 

It took everything he had to continue stumbling forward. 

_Did I fail to protect him?_

He could still hear screech from the apartment in the back of his mind. Dread settled in the pit of his stomach as he forced himself to keep walking. Nights in Moscow were cold, but tonight felt even colder as the snow started to pile up on the sidewalk. 

What could have been in the apartment? 

Whatever it was had to be huge enough to break down the door with just its body. It sounded like it had trashed the bedroom in a frenzy looking for Victor. 

Had it escaped outside the apartment yet? 

Victor bit his lower lip and hobbled to the right and down the street. The best thing about their neighborhood was also the proximity to Yakov and Lilia. The former prima ballerina lived just around the corner and right now Yakov and Yurio were with her. 

Another five long minutes of hobbling and he made it to the front of their building. 

The lobby should have been lit up, but like everything else, the lights were off. 

_Power outage?_

Moving towards the door, Victor wrapped his frozen fingers around the handle and pulled. The door opened slowly and reluctantly without power to help it along. 

“Hello?” Victor called out into the darkness. 

No answer. 

“Hello? Anyone here?” Victor tried again, flexing his fingers to keep them from freezing up again. 

Still no answer. 

The building creaked above him as it settled, making Victor hyper aware of the unnerving silence around him. Wrapping his arms around himself, he squinted into the darkness and listened. 

The only sound he heard was the sound of his heart between his ears. 

Taking a deep breath, Victor slowly pressed on. Lilia’s apartment was on the ground floor, so it was only a short walk down the hall from where he now was. The tile was even colder on his feet than the concrete outside. 

When he exhaled, Victor could see his breath. 

Shuffling past the unfamiliar doors, Victor finally stood in front of the right one. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the wood as hard as he could, with hands so frozen it made his joints ache. 

No answer. 

“Please,” Victor trembled as he pounded his fist against the door harder. 

Still no answer. 

“Yakov. Please. I need help.” Victor’s voice sounded strained to his own ears. 

Finally, he heard the slap of feet and someone unlocking the door and peeking outside. Yakov narrowed his eyes. “Vitya. Do you know what time it is?” 

“Something broke into my apartment, and Yuuri is missing.” 

Yakov drew back and squinted at him taking in his less than put together state. “Have you been drinking?” 

“No! Something broke into my place. I don’t know what it is, but Yakov...something took Yuuri!” 

Yakov turned back to peer into the darkness, and then turned back to Victor stepping back and opening the door. “Yura should be sleeping. Come in and we will sort this out.” 

Victor sighed as he stepped into the stale warmth of the apartment. Instantly, his body relaxed. 

Yakov paused and opened the door on his left. “Yuratchka. Get up.” 

Victor heard the young teen groan. “What? Why? I have practice in the morning.”

Yakov grunted and pushed the door open and moved towards the living room. Victor moved slowly behind him. Yakov stopped moving for a moment, jerking to a stop. 

Victor paused behind him. “Yakov?” 

“It’s nothing.” Yakov bit out and continued into the living area. 

It was darker than he remembered the room ever being when he had lived with Lilia and Yakov. The large windows at the other wall should have let in enough moonlight to illuminate most of the room, but the curtains were shut, the room immersed in darkness. 

“Can we turn on a light?” Victor asked hesitantly. 

“Do _you_ want to wake Lilia?” Yakov reached out, stopping mid-movement, shoulders dropping and head twitching sharply to the left. Victor startled and took a step back. 

_Something’s wrong._

“Sit down. Calm down,” Yakov barked out head twisting towards Victor as his hand shot out fingers wiggling as he pointed at the small couch. 

Victor jumped and moved towards the couch, sitting on the stiff upholstery.

Yakov reached out and grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch, tossing it over Victor with a heavy hand. His hand stopped mid-pat, then continued moving as he stroked Victor’s hair from his face. 

“Now try and explain what happened.” 

Victor nodded, but before he could really delve into the explanation, Yurio marched into the room, stumbling forward hitting one of the chairs. “Fuck.” 

“Yura, language,” Yakov growled in warning. 

“I’ll remember my language when Vitya remembers common decency.” Yurio’s arm flopped to the side, finger still pointing as it went limp at his side. Yakov pivoted, his lips frowning as he pitched forward at an angle that made Victor jump up and reach out to catch him. 

Except Yakov didn’t fall. Both Yakov and Yurio stopped, both heads turning slowly towards Victor. 

“Explain yourself, Vitya.” Even though Yakov’s lips moved, his voice came out distorted from his lips. 

“Yuuri is missing.” Victor stood up pulling the blanket around himself as he slowly put the couch between him and the other two. 

Yurio’s body twitched and jerked as he tipped his head to the side. “I’m right here.” 

“Not you, Yura. I am talking about Yuuri Katsuki, my fiance.” Victor bit out, fingers gripping into the fluff of the blanket. 

“Who are you talking about? There is no Yuuri Katsuki,” Yurio’s voice burbled out at him, distorted as if he were speaking through water. His head twitched and jerked the other way resting on his right shoulder. 

Victor felt his stomach drop to his knees. 

_Get out._

“I-I must be tired,” Victor apologized as he slowly moved back towards the hallway. 

Both Yakov and Yurio turned standing ramrod straight. Yakov’s arm raised from his side, hand limp from his wrist. “You must be. Why don’t we make up the couch for you?” 

“Better than going back out there.” Yurio’s voice responded as if it was cutting through static. 

“No, I’m going home.” Victor gave a small uneasy smile to the two people slowly advancing towards him. 

“Are you sure?” Yakov jaw hung lax as his lips continued to move even though nothing was coming out. 

“Yes. I’ll be going now.” 

Victor stumbled backwards until his back hit the door, and he saw Yakov and Yurio had stopped moving at the end of the hallway. Quietly, Victor reached behind him unlocking the lock on the door and turning the knob. 

Red eyes peered back at him from over Yakov’s left shoulder.

Thin wires twinkled in the dimness, and Victor knew if he blinked they would disappear once more. The strings were held by whatever was staring back at him. Yakov’s body jerked and twitched as his lips continued to move, and something leaked from the corner of his right eye. 

Victor took a step forward long enough to open the door just enough for him to step out and shut the door behind him. 

Despite the ache in his limbs, Victor forced himself to jog through the dark lobby and back onto the streets. 

In the time that Victor had been inside Lilia’s luxury apartment, a fog had settled outside, thick enough that Victor could barely see his hand in front of his face. 

His body trembled as he pressed against the brick wall behind him.

Nowhere was safe. “What do I do now?” 

\----

Victor woke with a start. 

It was ice cold around him. The blanket encasing him had picked up enough condensation from the fog to wet the blanket and the cold air froze the fibers in place. 

This is not what should have happened. 

Victor’s body trembled as he slowly uncurled himself from underneath the frozen blanket.

The fog looked thicker around him and sat right about where his face was. It was hard to see anything past his nose. 

That didn’t stop him from hearing the skittering of feet and the soft hisses coming from around him. 

_Move._

His body screamed out in protest as he shoved the blanket away. 

He had been lucky to have that blanket. 

On top of the white formerly fluffy blanket was a thin mesh of something that looked like silk. 

Another hiss. 

Victor shoved the blanket to the ground and pressed his hand against the rough brick behind him, slowly pulling himself up. Looking out over the top of the fog, he could the something moving around just out of reach. 

_Yuuri. Did this happen to you, too?_

Victor was terrified. 

But nothing made him feel more sick than the realization that his lover was out in this somewhere fighting to survive. 

_If he was even still alive._

Victor grimaced and slowly sank down to the frozen ground, knees twinging as he looked underneath the fog. There was no visibility that way other. Everything would have to play out from now on with his luck. 

His luck would only get him so far. 

Victor turned down the way he had come back. There was a park nearby the shopping center. He had moved too quickly away from the apartment to really have a plan last night, but now- 

_I’m just trying to make it as far as I can._

Yakov was gone, and Yurio was too. Had Lilia found the same fate? 

They had said there was no such person as Yuuri Katsuki. 

Something brushed against his leg. Victor jumped and scurried as fast as his frozen limbs allowed him. 

Something pinched at the back of his ankle, hissing. 

Victor jumped and kicked out, his foot making contact with something soft. Whatever he hit hissed and scurried off. 

Pain throbbed in his ankle on one side and a burning sharp pain joined it from the other. 

Victor was breaking down. He wouldn’t be able to walk much longer in the cold and injured before his body would give out.

He wasn’t stupid. 

Victor knew his limits. 

Stepping towards the high gates of the park, Victor tugged the black iron gate opened and tripped inside. 

This park was special. 

It was where he took Makkachin and where he and Yuuri could go for a walk without having to be seen by prying eyes. They made it a point to come look at the large trees and take all the walking paths together. Sometimes they even came here on their morning runs when Makkachin felt good enough to accompany them. 

The fog hadn’t quite seeped past the gates yet, but something was wrong. 

Victor couldn’t even find the energy to tense up anymore. 

The large trees were painted with white large webs, and humongous shadows moved further in. The hisses that he had just escaped became more of a rumble. 

A laugh bubbled up past his lips as Victor plopped down onto one of his favorite benches. 

He couldn’t help it. 

He let the laugh burst from within him as he pressed a hand to his forehead and brushed the damp hair away from his forehead. 

_I’m going to die._

Tossing his hands out, he turned and presented himself towards the shadows. “What are you waiting for?!” 

His voice echoed around him in the silence. 

There was a roaring hiss that came from inside the walking trail. Victor’s legs started to tremble as he sat there arms open. “Come and get me!” 

Chittering and screeching echoed around him as red eyes popped in the branches of the trees. Things watched him, but nothing approached him as he sat there. 

After a while his arms tired. 

His shoulders slumped as he leaned back into the bench. “No? Well then, I’ll sit here until you change your mind!” 

The creatures around him slowly sunk back into their nests, and Victor leaned back and looked up towards moon and the stars. The clouds had cleared and the night was beautiful. If he had been dressed for it, and wasn’t scared of his mind, it would have been a great night to look at the stars. 

His vision wavered as tears trickled down his cheeks. 

There was only so much he could take. 

\----

Victor had no idea how long he had sat there waiting for something to try and end his life, but he had dozed off again. 

As he sat up, his skin felt raw and swollen, lips chapped, and body stiff. 

The sun rose over the peaks of the trees, casting the fog around him in a faint glowing yellow. 

He had survived the night. 

_How?_

Victor winced and looked down at his ankles. One had a mottled purple and black bruise across it, and the other had a large angry white and red pustule on the back where he had been struck. 

Pushing himself up from the bench, his body screamed in protest. 

Victor sighed and frowned at the state of himself. His pajama bottoms were torn and muddied, mud and blood caked his hands and arms. 

A weariness settled into him as he looked around. 

Everything looked normal again. 

The fog was just the customary fog that he was used to seeing on his runs in the morning. 

There were no spiderwebs. 

No red eyes in the trees. 

No large bodies further inside the park perimeter. 

Everything appeared to be normal. 

Putting one foot in front of the other, Victor hobbled his way to the park gates and slowly opened them. 

The shops were open again, and people milled about on the street. While there weren’t too many people out, there were still people which made the situation feel more like a dream. 

Victor clapped a hand over his lips, his legs wobbly picking up pace as he tried to jog towards his apartment. 

_**Yuuri**. He has to be there._

Letting himself inside, Victor drug himself up the side entrance and up to the first floor step-by-step. His ankles pulsed in protest as he reached the top of the first flight of stairs. 

Blood oozed from the wound on the back of his ankle, but still Victor persisted. 

One by one. 

Up the stairs. 

_I want to see Yuuri._

If there was one thing keeping him upright as he moved, this was it. He had to be there. Whatever had crashed and broken into their apartment had been a figment of his imagination. 

Was that possible? 

_Yuuri..Yuuri...Yuuri!_

Pushing the door open, Victor fell into the hall, his body trembling as he hit the plush carpet. His hands gripped into it as he squirmed from the door. The door shut behind him as he pulled himself up to his hands and knees and crawled towards their apartment door. 

Reaching up towards the handle, Victor tugged it and the door opened up with no resistance. 

Victor peered into the apartment in the early morning light. 

Paused in the middle of the hallway was Yuuri, hand on the thermostat and towel around his shoulders. “Victor?!” 

_Thank goodness._

Victor’s hand slid off the doorknob as his fiance ran to him. Grabbing Victor underneath his armpits, Yuuri pulled him inside and shut the door. 

“Victor! I was so worried about you! You were there when I feel asleep and then -” Yuuri let out a strangled noise as Victor wrapped his arms around him and both crashed onto the floor. 

“Yuuri!” Victor’s body trembled. 

“Yuuri! Yuuri! Yuuri!” He buried his face into his lover’s chest and nuzzled close to him. 

Everything was alright. 

Everything was going to be fine. 

“I had the worst night-” Victor whined quietly, his body trembling against Yuuri’s smaller frame. 

“I know. Vitya, I know,” Yuuri murmured as he brushed some of his hair behind his ear. 

Victor relaxed against him, eyes sliding shut. 

“I was just about to cook breakfast. Did you want some?” Yuuri asked sweetly, his fingers brushing over Victor’s scalp. The motion of Yuuri’s needle-like nails felt good against his head. 

_Wait._

Victor tensed up, and slowly opened his eyes. The arm wrapped around him was thin, thinner than Yuuri had any business being. His arms felt more like bone than anything. 

“Vitya...are you hungry?” Yuuri’s patient voice burbled above his head. 

Victor didn’t draw away; he didn’t look up. 

He didn’t want to. 

“I’m just tired…” Victor murmured into his fiance’s bone thin shoulders. 

“You seem overwhelmed. I’ll eat first then I’ll tend to you.” Yuuri’s kind voice slowed down in his ears. It was like a funny track on a movie where all the sounds turn slow and syrupy like molasses.

“Yuuri, I-” 

“Shhh Vitya. Do you remember what I told you to do when you feel overwhelmed?” Yuuri whispered fingers tightening their grip in his hair. 

“Close my eyes.” Victor shuddered at the pressure on the back of his head. 

“Yes,” urged Yuuri. 

“Take a deep breath…” 

“That’s right,” Yuuri coaxed. 

“Count down from ten.” 

“Good boy,” Yuuri rasped in his ear, tongue licking the outer shell. 

Victor shut his eyes as tightly as possible, exhaled, and drew in a deep breath. 

“Ten…”

**Author's Note:**

> So, I had thought I might do something a little different than I normally do. Though, in retrospect I played around with creepy images in When Making Contracts with Demons. This was still in a different direction as you can probably tell. It was a blast to write and I have to say the Sinister Movie Soundtrack helped with scene inspiration for this.
> 
> If you enjoy my writing and would like to see what else I'm up to please follow my at [regaldragonscribe](http://regaldragonscribe.tumblr.com) on tumblr. 
> 
> Also if you liked the story please leave a comment or kudos! 
> 
> Thanks again and Happy Halloween!


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